Beating the game
by Shadowruni
Summary: How long would you last if you weren't sure what was real, what was a nightmare, and what was pain?  At Slade's hands Raven will find out.
1. Kill you

"I don't own *********** and if I did I'd treat them a hell of a lot better"

Her breaths were coming in short gasps now. Panic was flooding her system.  
>"Dammit! Get a hold of yourself girl!", she screamed in her head.<br>"The rules… must remember the rules…", she thought while trying to bring her  
>Raven whipped her head around looking for anything that she could use as a weapon.<br>The staccato of suppressed gunfire.  
>All around her countless woodchips flew, each one biting into her bruised and sweaty skin like a mosquito. She had stood still too long. She felt it before she heard it.<p>

A hard thump in her chest. A dull thud rang in her ears.

Instinctively she grasped where she'd been hit and tried to run.

It was getting harder to breath.

She tried to keep moving but it felt like she was walking on sponges.

She saw the world suddenly tilt to the side.

She could feel her face sticky and wet with what she dimly realized was her blood.

She was so tired.

She felt her bladder fail burning shame into what lucidity she had left.

She was so tired.

She saw the world getting dark and struggled to keep her eyes open not realizing that they were.

Raven lay dead on the cold forest floor.

"Simulation ending.", a woman's voice said in a calm monotone.

Raven lay naked shivering in a tube filled with a pink liquid. Electrodes and tubes ran into her body, assuming any bodily function that would require her to leave the chamber. Arrayed in a perfect circle around the tube was a flowing river of quicksilver with glowing runes floating on it all glowing with eldritch fire. At each of the Five Points sat a man in white robes muttering words that seemed to hang in the air like a dense fog but slipped the mind like a forgotten dream.

A man in a mask with one eye clicked on a microphone.  
>"Raven. Raven can you hear me? You lasted three whole days. Doesn't that make you feel better?"<p>

Raven felt her blood run cold at the sound of the voice. She remembered it and would never forget it as long as she lived.

Slade.

"Raven. I saw you tried to play by your own rules. Remember, this is my game and we will play it as long as you want."

Raven rasped into the mask that was feeding her oxygen.

"What was that? Is there something you want to tell me. Do you want to help me now?"

"K-k-ill you…" she rasped.

"No. No Raven that won't be happening… I think you need another round."

Raven tried but she couldn't hold in a muted sob. Whimpering she knew what was coming.

She arched her back as white-hot ice picks stabbed into her head. She thrashed against her restraints in the tube so violently the straps cut into her skin, lightly tinting the pink fluid a darker red.

Just as suddenly she stopped. Fully immersed in the world Slade made for her.

A/N - I always liked mind frag movies like Memento. I figured


	2. Flashbacks

Don't own the Teen Titans. If I did I'd treat them a hell of a lot better.

One Year Ago

"TITAN'S GO!"

Robin charged ahead heedless of the gangbangers' automatic gunfire. Cyborg was laying down suppressing fire with his sonic cannon while Starfire provided close in air support with her optic blasts. Raven and Beast Boy were going under the sewers to get behind the gang's firing line.

Urban warfare at its finest.

These meticulously planned combat roles were a reaction to the glut of thugs coming back from the Middle East wars with actual military training. The thugs were dispensing with their old mentality of holding their "gatt" sideways, not cleaning their weapons, and standing in the open in a show of bravado. Now they were setting up ambushes, using enhanced concealment and booby traps.

Supervillians would have been an _almost_ welcome break as they normally had a theme and a sense (if somewhat twisted) of honor in how they approached the young heroes.

"1-2-3-4 Breath…Relax…Aim…Squeeze!", whispered the marksman as he sighted in on the back of Robin's neck feeling the M40's trigger break under the weight he'd trained with and become accustomed to.

Something glinted off to Robin's left. He dove for the ground as his finely honed danger sense screamed for him to hit the deck. It was fortunate that he listened as a millisecond later he felt more than heard what seemed like a red hot fingernail tear through the skin on his neck.

"Shit! A sniper!" Robin yelled into his T-com as he fell on the ground.

His time in Gotham had engrained in him a reflex. When you dodge a bullet you keep dodging. He rolled and dropped a smoke bomb.

"_Heh. I can see your feet kid._" the man thought cycling the bolt ejecting the empty case and loading in another round.

Robin intentionally fell backwards hearing another round whiz by his head. He was back on his feet almost instantly running for cover.

"_He should be….THERE!" _he thought firing again.

Robin's world suddenly spun as his shoulder exploded in a bright red mist as a round finally hit him and he dropped to the pavement. His shoulder hurt in terrible agony but at the same time seemed distant.

"_I'm going into shock_…" drifted through Robin's mind as he started to feel cold.

It was then that Raven and Beast Boy finally arrived behind their enemies.

Robin weakly worked his legs trying to move. His enemy, soon-to-be executioner, sighted in on him.

The next ten seconds seemed to be ten minutes.

Cyborg watched Robin go down and immediately sent a command to the T-car to cover Robin.

Starfire let loose with everything she had going on a stunning offensive display with her diving into the ground releasing a shockwave that knocked everyone off their feet.

Beast Boy immediately transformed into a T-Rex and wreaked havoc on the gang members.

Raven let her empathic nature open to the world and she felt him. A dark mind filled with a sense of satisfaction.

"_There he is! One mile and on the 9__th__ floor of that apartment building._" thought Raven sporting four red eyes.

Raven flew like a missile and stopped in front of the window spoiling the gunman's aim on Robin. For a moment she hesitated, trying to think of a way to subdue him without killing him. The gunman's zeroed in on Raven, completely disregarding her look promising of death.

"_I'll pop this bitch and dip!_" thought the man pulling the trigger.

The bullet shot right into Raven's cloak and disappeared.

"_He just tried to kill me!_"  
><em><strong> "Let's dine on his soul…"<strong>__  
>"No, if kill him I'm not better than him."<br>__** "He's reloading. Let's see if he has such reservations."**_

"**DIE BITCH!**" Were the gunman's last words as he fired.

With her hands spread wide Raven reached out with her power and encased a large part of the building in a sphere of darkness.

"**Azrath Metrion Zinthos!**" yelled Raven slamming her hands together.

The ball of darkness compressed inwards crushing the man. It looked like someone had taken an ice cream scoop and carved a perfect sphere out of the front of the building. Somewhere in the damage a gas line was hit and leaked into the walls in the building. People were running from the building knowing that fights with costumed heroes are very destructive. The building was nearly empty.

Meanwhile Raven was having her own personal crisis. She slowly lowered herself to the ground. She had lost control again and this time she killed a man. All around her people were running away from the building. She stared at her hands while they started to blur through the tears in her eyes.

Somewhere in the damage a line sparked.

The resulting explosion broke windows for half a mile.

Raven looked up and saw the building start to topple down towards her. She leaned back with a resigned smile, spreading her arms wide and welcomed her approaching doom.

Then she saw them. An elderly couple with what looked to be a grandchild. She instantly ran towards them and covered them in the strongest shield she could manage in her mental state. For a few moments the shield held, then popped like the bubble it resembled with all of them inside it.

AN:

That's it for this chapter. I love reviews, constructive ones, and while this is my first story I've been reading fanfiction since about 1997 and have always wanted to tell a good story.


	3. Unintended Consequences

I don't own the Teen Titans, if I did I'd treat them a hell of a lot better.

[A television clicks on]

This is John Casey Jump City Channel 5 Evening News.  
>Tonight's top story.<br>We've seen many fights between heroes and villains in our city.  
><em><br>[Images of the Titans in all their glory]_

Villains.

_[Images of Slade, the Hive Five, Mad Mod and others flash by]_

The very word conjures images of a diabolically sinister mastermind in a dark cave with minions.

_[Various video feeds of the battle play in the background as the newscaster talks]_

Sometimes that's a very accurate description when thinking of the Hive or the Secret Society.

Then are moments like today in East Jump when the Teen Titans turned a street into a war zone culminating in an apartment building being destroyed in what can only be described as a reckless use of excessive force on the part of one Titan called Raven.  
><em><br>[A news helicopter video of Raven carving a chunk out of the building]_

[A shaky cell phone video of the building coming down with people screaming in the background]

[Raven looking at the building coming down with her arms outstretched looking at the building falling]

Who were the villains here?

The thugs with the machine guns or the children with the power to level buildings.

_[A file photo of Raven drawing on her power with her face in a terrifying grimace]_

With sixteen confirmed dead, fifteen in the hospital and ten unaccounted for that question will be answered in coming days.  
>Along with will any charges with that may be brought against them.<p>

Along with the largest question: If charges are filed will the Titans come face them and accept any penalties?

[A television clicks off]


	4. Fissures

I don't own the Teen Titans, if I did I'd treat them a hell of a lot better.

Beating the game Ch4 – Fissure

The Teen Titans were watching the newscast that all but outright said they planned the battle and collateral damage.

"What the hell?" yelled Beast Boy.  
>"Relax Green Bean, We know what happened, right Star?" said Cyborg looking at the girl lazily floating watching the news with concerned eyes.<br>"Friend Cyborg is right! We didn't do anything wrong and the city knows it." 

Robin sighed leaning back, his arm and shoulder in a cast with his head a little light from the Oxytocin he was taking to relieve the pain from his gunshot wound. The damage had been severe and the best that Raven could do after teleporting from under the fallen building was to stop the bleeding before falling unconscious herself.

"I remember once when Batman and I raided an illegal clinic." said Robin. "We didn't know about the medical staff some thugs were holding hostage. Never mind that the staffers were all helping criminals with illegal prescriptions and changing tattoos. When a few of them got hit with some stray rounds; it cost Commissioner Gordon a lot of political capital to keep a shoot on sight order from being placed on us. The press had a field day with it. I wanted to state our case but Batman wouldn't let me. He said that the ones who matter know the truth, the smart ones will learn the truth and to hell with anyone else.  
>I soon saw what he meant.<br>The same reporters that were calling for our heads on pikes were the same ones running stories on illegal clinics and organized crime the next week."

Robin saw he had everyone's attention.

"Reporters are nothing but maggots feeding on the suffering of others and they'll turn on you as soon as it's in their best interests."

Starfire was about to retort in support of maggots as they reminded her of Silkie but decided against it. Instead she asked, "Robin? How is friend Raven? I saw the video and I've never seen her use that stance when controlling her powers. It looked like she was welcoming her own death…"

"Really Star? I don't think Raven was-"began Beast Boy.

"No! You did not see it. She was, how do you say, totally pissed? I think she could have eaten a Grish'nark whole with its ten hooves, seven eyes, and stinging tentacles."

While the others recoiled slightly at the thought of eating such a thing Robin thought on what she said and what he'd been thinking.

'_Star might be right…'  
><em>

Raven was sitting on her bed with a thousand stare engrossed deeply in her own mind via her mirror. She knew she was talking to herself whenever she spoke to her feelings but lately she'd been doing it more and for longer periods. Right before her fight with Trigon she had a long talk with them and she came to realize that she was her own best friend. On further reflection she mused that it must be her control that made it that way. She loved the others in her own way but not in the way they loved her. She felt she had a legitimate fear in the others finding out how she felt. Try as she might except in the direst of circumstances she couldn't express the same love they did for her.

Raven sat with her other Aspects in a circle in Nevermore discussing the building collapse and her own acceptance of fate being denied by saving those people when the building collapsed.

"Why did we do that?" asked Wisdom  
>"Do what? Save those people or not try to save ourselves?" asked Bravery.<p>

"Both. Those actions were at complete opposition to our goal, but we did them anyway." replied Knowledge.

"Maybe we didn't want to die." whispered Timid.  
>"What she said." said a very subdued Happy?<br>"We let Anger out. That was a mistake." said Knowledge.  
>"Normally I'd disagree with you but I think it was a mistake too", agreed Bravery.<br>"I have to disagree with you both." intoned Wisdom startling the others and Raven as well.  
>"Why? We killed him and others!" questioned Raven with the others nodding in agreement.<br>"Killing is sometimes necessary. We killed Trigon. We eat things for food. That man was going to kill us. He almost killed Robin. We are half demon. Violence is in our nature and we fight against it. I _know_ you all have felt it as we're one in the same.The more we fight it, the harder we deny our natural instincts and urges the … larger our lapses will be." explained Wisdom at length.  
>They all thought for a moment.<br>"What should we do? We can't walk around killing everyone and everything that crosses us. Despite the power we wield we're not invincible nor are we murderers." said Raven feeling out the others.  
>"I don't know about this… We can easily go too far and not be able to turn back…" Timid quietly posited.<br>No one had said an answer for that but Raven knew what they all were thinking after all it was herself.  
>It was already too late to turn back.<p>

-  
>Later that night after the others had gone to bed; Robin headed to Raven's room and knocked gently.<br>"Robin, I don't really want to talk about It.", answered Raven already knowing what Robin wanted to speak of.  
><em>'Did she read my', <em>  
>"No. You're just a little too perceptive and so I knew you'd figure something out." she said clearly stating making her point.<br>"Be that as it may, we still need to talk. I - We're all worried about you." Robin said mentally cursing his slip while smiling a bit at her understanding of him.  
>"Thanks, but I need to figure this out on my own."<br>"Raven. We need to talk about something important. Something bad that could come out of this and it's really meant for your ears."

When Raven didn't answer for a few moments Robin turned to leave when her door slid open.

"I don't need to be an empath Robin to know this isn't going to be a pleasant talk."  
>"You're right. It won't be."<p> 


	5. Knowledge

I don't own the Teen Titans, if I did I'd treat them a hell of a lot better.

Beating the game Ch5 – Knowledge

"So what did you want to talk about?", asked Raven carefully schooling her features into an emotionless mask.

"I spoke with the mayor, DA, and Commissioner. The DA wants to press charges for Manslaughter 1 maybe Murder2. The JLA is sending its lawyers here to help us.", said Robin eliciting a silent gasp from Raven.

"You don't really need to worry though Batman and I have faced things like this many times. Hell we were convicted once by an overzealous – ", continued Robin stopping abruptly noticing a dead look in Raven's eyes.

"Are you here to convince me to turn myself in?", asked Raven.

"No."

"Then why are you here?", getting a little irritated by Robin's presence.

"To tell you what's going to happen and about some other things.", and with that Robin held up a finger to his lips in the almost universal gesture to be quiet.

Raven watched as Robin pulled out a gadget she'd never seen before. It was a long cylindrical device with a black crystal in the middle that seemed to absorb light. Four small rods came off the device and Robin affixed one to each corner in the room. Despite the base of the cylinder now being a small point without any obvious supports it still stood perfectly upright despite all logic saying otherwise.

Raven knew that Robin, like his mentor the Batman, relied heavily on technology to get by as a superhero. She'd always suspected that there was technology he'd held back but to see her suspicions confirmed in such a way at a time like this did little reassure her.

Robin then removed a glove and brushed his finger over the top of the device in a circle and then cross pattern. A low hum and purple glow began to emanate from the device and all sound and light seemed to _flow_ slightly towards the device now floating in the center of the room. The effect seemed to pull on her mind as well. To say it was disconcerting to the powerful young psychic would be a massive understatement.

"We have to be quick before this is noticed.", said Robin quickly crossing in front of Raven.

"Robin… what is this… this thing?", said Raven holding her head fighting off a wave of vertigo.

"It's a NFG, a Null Field generator. It shunts all energy, light, sound, psi, ALL energy, into a small pocket dimension. It makes any type of monitoring impossible. It even stops thoughts from being monitored. I know it's uncomfortable but it was absolutely essential for what I need to tell you."

"What is it?", all of her discomfort pushed to the background with the knowledge of the extreme measures Robin went through to keep the conversation private.

"Some backstory is needed to understand this. A few years ago Dr. Light was a much more dangerous villain. When the JL was just the original Big Six and only a few adjunct members he managed to get up to the original Watchtower. Elongated Man's wife and partner, Sue Dibny, was on monitoring duty. He beat and raped her. The original six got Zatanna to erase his mind, removing his deep knowledge of the League and tried to render him harmless and incompetent. Batman found out about this and tried to stop them. He was also mind wiped."

"No…", Raven said eyes wide with the realization of the root of Batman's issues with the JL and the lengths the League was willing to go to protect itself.

"Yes. Through an incredibly convoluted series of events which aren't important right now Batman had his memories restored. There aren't words to describe his sense of anger and violation. At the forced realization that he couldn't trust the JL he created Brother Eye."

"Brother Eye?", asked Raven wondering where this was going.

"Yes, Brother Eye, a semi-autonomous AI, housed on a stealth satellite hooked into almost every sensor platform on the planet and a few beyond it looking out for guys like Apokolips. Its mission was to monitor all meta-human activity on Earth, learn everything it can about them from secret identities to weaknesses, and compile this information for Batman's use. It also used directed psi sensors for people like you and me who won't show up otherwise.", Robin said nodding towards the floating device, its importance now very apparent.

"Wait a minute.", said Raven holding out her hands bringing Robin's explanation to a stop.  
>"He knows everything about everyone … including the Titans. Including you? He has plans to capture… kill us if he wants to?"<p>

Robin could see the look of betrayal in her eyes and knew exactly how she felt.  
>'<em>That's probably how I looked when I found out.<em>', Robin realized as he watched Raven come to terms with the measures Batman had taken to protect himself and the world at large.

"Why are you telling me this?", asked Raven with her head spinning from both the realization of the scope of Batman's plans and paranoia and the NFG playing merry havoc with her equilibrium.

"I think the JL might hang you out to dry. We both know Zatanna doesn't trust you and didn't want the League to help you at all. It was one of the reasons Batman had no issues with you founding the Titans with me. In fact he was one of the few voices to support your claims. However he's in a difficult position now. Not because of the killing thing; as while he won't kill he won't always save someone either. He needs to keep Brother Eye as secret as possible. Ra's Al Ghul compromised Brother Eye's security and its existence was revealed to the League when its knowledge was used against them. For obvious reasons this was kept to the innermost members, but by then, most of the original Six had moved on, been killed, or just kept quiet about the original reason Batman had built it. They saw it as too good a chance to weaken his power in the League."

"Weaken his power?", queried Raven feeling like she was following a Shakespearian tragedy.

"Yes. As one of the few original members still actively involved in the leadership of the League he held more power and sway than the chairwoman at the time, Black Canary. They might be superhuman but _still human_, with all of our flaws and personality defects, in many cases magnified by powers and egos. The revelation of Brother Eye, its knowledge and purpose, but NOT the reason for its origin caused the rest of the League to completely distrust Batman and all but declare open war on him."

"How's this all link back to me?", wondered Raven with a sinking feeling.

"The League will use you to get to him through me. Egos and personality defects aside, we all have generally the same common mission and if it becomes a question of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few and a choice being made 'for the greater good' then he will have to let them have you. They can't go after him directly but me they _can_ go after. The best way to hurt me… is to hurt you."

"But why?", asked Raven already knowing but dreading the answer.

"As much a bright point in my life Starfire is, you are the one I think about being with. Batman knows it and so does Brother Eye…so then the League knows it too.", revealed Robin.

"What?, whispered Raven plopping down on her bed her mind reeling.

"You've been in my head and know my secrets and pain. I was there when you thought you couldn't beat Trigon. We know each other's feelings and when situations are intense enough thoughts too. We've both thought about it and while now's a horrible time for this to be brought to the forefront it _is_ going to be used against us.", explained Robin in a pained voice having never imaged a scenario like this being the impetus for him voicing his true feelings to Raven.

"So what now?"

"I don't know, but that's the situation and what we're up against."

"We? Do the others know about this?"

"No. I don't think Beast Boy would really understand and Starfire would likely wage a war to keep you safe and while Cyborg _would_ understand and completely support us, I'm ninety-nine percent sure Brother Eye has compromised his cybernetic systems. It'd be on a level so deep he'd never know it but given some of the intel the League has on us it's the only reasonable explanation. I do have a plan though."

AN:  
>Wow, I love xxBlackRavenxx's work, I might be a 32 year old guy married with a kid but I still go squee when I read "Let it snow".<p>

I love reviews and swear to review each of your stories that I've read.

I like mind-fuck stories or stories that make you say… WTF did I just read. Stories like Fear Monster (a great AU piece that will mess with you but completely turn you on at the same time with a great twist ending) , and Vermilion Ascendant (damn belleradh and her Muse's ADD) will mess with you.

Nope GrayAreas – I won't abandon this story. It might take me years to finish it but I *will*.

RavenRulz – Here's a bit more for ya.

Oh by the way guys, your reading and comments are what got me going again. More reviews and comments equals more chapters coming out faster!


	6. Stratagem

I don't own the Teen Titans, if I did I'd treat them a hell of a lot better.

Beating the game Ch6 – Stratagem

"A plan?"

"Yes Raven, a plan. I think we need to get the public on our side and then we can-", started Robin slowing pacing her room ticking off points in his plan to save Raven.

"Robin… I don't think I want to fight this."

"What? Why not?"

"Robin, I **did** commit the cri- actions. I **did** lose control and kill that man. I **did** use my powers irresponsibly and kill all of those people and destroy their homes and lives. **I did these things!"** yelled Raven getting more emotional with each point she made.

"Raven, I- I can't let you-", quietly observing nothing was being destroyed despite her outburst.

"No Robin… stop. I understand, I really do but the fact is I killed people. I killed them. I know you guys think of the Demon that I can become as another person but- she. Is. me." Expounded Raven pointing at herself.

"I did these things and like we say if we kill we're no better than 'they' are right? Are we too good to face the consequences of our actions, of **my** actions?"

"Raven let's talk about this. I'm all for responsibility and I'll be the first to take the blame for any action of my team. You don't need to do this by yourself. It'll be okay."

"Robin, it won't be okay. It'll never be okay. I don't want to do this. I want my freedom, but I have to play the game by the rules. And those rules say I'm to be punished."

"And what if those rules decide that you should die as a punishment?"

"Then that is what I deserve. Robin, like I said earlier, you're a little too perceptive. What was I about to do? What was I about to accept?"

"Raven-"

"**What was I about to do?" **yelled Raven with more emotion than Robin could ever recall seeing.

"You- You were going to let it happen weren't you? You weren't going to move from in front of the building." Robin said, more as a statement and not a question.

"Robin, I'm one of the most powerful psychics on the planet, if I don't intentionally filter out the background noise of _millions _of minds around me I'd go insane. It's something I don't discuss because few would really understand it and it's a weakness. I hate the hospital or being anywhere near it. Do you know why? The sound and feeling of a mind leaving a dying body is a horrible experience. It's even worse when someone is born. I feel them. I. Feel. Them. The near mindless terror they feel. Their entire world has consisted of a warm heaven where every need is tended to and they're surrounded by love. Then it collapses in on them and their mind can't comprehend it. I felt all of those people die. I felt their minds speed up and reflect on their lives. I felt their regrets and lamentations. I felt them fade away. I felt that and more and … and -", Raven finally broke down and just cried. It was a plaintive wail that tore at Robin's soul.

For the first time in a long time Robin had no idea what to do. He'd never seen Raven so vulnerable. He absently wondered why the room hadn't blown into a million pieces but those questions took a backseat to the young woman he now held in his arms. Something tickled the back of his mind. Something about the whole situation was so surreal, and while nothing stood out her couldn't help but deny that Raven's control was so loose she'd kill but facts were facts. Weren't they?

He had forgotten how small she was holding her as her body was racked with sobs. He thought back to what his mother would do when he felt like this when his grandfather died. He gently rocked her while she drifted off into fitful nightmares of choking dust, screams, and unbridled terror.

AN:

Brother Eye really happened in the DC Universe pretty much in the way I summed up. (I don't know if I could come up with something like that when not on a mind-altering substance.) I know it's confusing right now but things become clearer.

xxBlackRavenxx: Yes he loves her very much, but he's a lot like Batman in some ways. The mission comes first. We'll get to the scene shown in the first chapter in due time.


	7. Distance

I don't own the Teen Titans, if I did I'd treat them a hell of a lot better.

Beating the game Ch7 – Distance

Despite what numerous space operas and movies would have you think there's no such thing as a sound in space. Its silence is all-encompassing and absolute. It's something that few can comprehend and even fewer experience. The Man of Steel is one of those few. He floats in an orbit near the Earth's apogee.

Most think that he's there monitoring the planet, listening to everything to find the most urgent cry for help. The reality couldn't be further from the truth, he goes here for peace, silence, and an always too brief escape from the constant cacophony of billions of people going about their daily lives.

Ever since the death of Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and others after the Joker bombed the Daily Planet and subsequently the Joker's murderer, a new hero named Magog, being acquitted of any wrongdoing he's becoming further isolated from Mankind. He spends more and more time at his Fortress of Solitude surrounded by the memories of Krypton and thinks of himself as Kal-El with Clark Kent quickly becoming a tiresome distraction.

'_I've always been apart from them. Always above them no matter how hard I tried not to be. Bruce used to call me a Boy Scout, first in derision and then in camaraderie, yet I was still separate from the original founders. Diana did understand though and while we gave it a go we just weren't meant to be. Maybe I should strike out into the galaxy and find something, someone, out there?_' Mused Kal-El as he hung seeming motionless in space despite moving at thousands of kilometers a second in perfect synchronization with Earth.

A lifetime of Sol's beautiful yellow radiation had left him more powerful than ever despite the greying hair on his head. Something he actually regretted as with it came a near invulnerability to all but the strongest Kryptonite. Something the further distanced him from both the League and humanity at large. With no weaknesses, save for magic which was still a remarkably well-kept secret, by some he was being worshipped, despite all of his efforts to the contrary, as a living god. How he truly hated that. The idolatry and sycophancy of those worshipers, while initially flattering and in some ways enjoyed, was beyond anything he'd ever experienced as a hero and quickly drove him into hiding, only emerging for the direst situations.

Without Superman's example and moral guidance the League changed into more of a guiding than helping hand. This further splintered the once united front of superheroes into smaller and independent, sometimes clashing, groups of metahumans. Though untied against villainy in general the approach varied from defeating them and handing them over to the authorities to outright killing them and bystanders or collateral damage be damned. The looming threat of open war between metahumans, as the lines between hero and villain blurred and all but disappeared.

This was the threat that forced Mankind into making a choice, believing in the gods on high in the Watchtower or the devils under a society of villainy that pulled the strings.

In the end was there really a choice between the devil you know and the one you don't?

The die was cast with a young heroine unknowingly being the fulcrum upon which everything was balanced.

All as a young hero felt a nudge in the back of his mind at the world's growing wrongness.

All as a man watched things fall into place as he intended over the years despite numerous setbacks.

AN: As has already been noted I pull from the original source material when and where ever possible. I believe that adding depth to these events and tying them into my own story not only makes them larger but resonate better as if you know the comic book history, in this case, Kingdom Come, then you get a feel for what was happening.

I'm done with the short chapters.  
>The stage has been set.<br>Stay with me and let's see where this goes…


	8. Dominos

I don't own the Teen Titans or any DC properties for that matter, if I did I'd treat them a hell of a lot better.

Beating the game Ch8 – Dominos

Usually Robin blew off steam in physical ways. When there was something he couldn't share with the others finding the answer beyond his fist in the near mindless repetition of a kata was always therapeutic.

This time was different.

No matter how hard he hit the punching bag he was no closer to a solution than before.

He switched to his Kempo weapon forms with his bo.

Still no answers.

He switched to his Iedo forms with his bird-a-rangs in a sword formation.

Still no clear paths.

Finally switching on the room's sparring bots he annihilated every one of them with the unique style he inherited from Batman and was further honed by the True Master.

Still no solutions.

Sitting on the ground in a gracefully uncoordinated heap Robin's chest heaved as he gulped down air while wiping at his brow.

'_Bruce once told me that no good deed goes unpunished. Is that what this is?'_, wondered Robin while rubbing a welt where one of the bots had tagged him.  
>'<em>Is this one of those moments of punishment where fate, karma, or whatever decides that this is that time?<em>'

While Robin needed time he hated introspective moments like this where he was no closer to an answer.

'_What if there __is__ no solution and Raven goes down for this?_'

~The day before the trial~

The mood in the room could be described as coldly tense as the Titans sat in their meeting room. A room they'd literally been in thousands of times. They felt as if it was the most alien and inhospitable place in the world.

Maybe it had to do with the lawyer the JL sent. They mousy woman sat straight in her chair, an almost palpable sense of condescension rolling off of her as they began to tick off points of the case.

"The issue before you is that-" began the lead lawyer for the group

"Us. There isn't a "you" in this we're all with Raven in this and if you're not..." interjected Robin with narrowing eyes.

"The issue before _us_ is that there's an overwhelming amount of evidence against us. This isn't a case of winning or losing, this is damage control pure and simple. Between the video, the witness testimony, and Raven's actions-" the lawyer began again somehow looking down on the teens despite most of them being larger than herself.

'_Damage control for who?' _thought Robin.

"Raven's actions?" asked Beast Boy missing Raven's slight widening of her eyes and Robin's shoulders hitching up.

"Upon reviewing the video from the incident there are three things that standout mostly surrounding intent. One – Raven stopped before crushing the first victim."

"Victim! That dude tried to kill Raven and almost did kill Robin. How the hell is he a 'victim'?" questioned Beast Boy.

"Simple. He's dead." said Raven in her usual monotone with white but puffy eyes. It was obvious to everyone that she'd been crying and they knew that she'd rather die than ever admit that so they all studiously ignored it.

"That's correct Miss Raven. The fact that he was trying to kill you will hold some sway but the matter is that you _paused_. "

"Excuse me. But how is pausing showing… intent? He intended to kill friend Raven, no?"

"Miss Starfire. Earth laws, particularly US laws, have degrees; degrees of seriousness or wrongness for lack of a better term. In the case of killing someone intent is one of the, if not the, most important aspect of the whole situation. If she had simply killed him without pause, we could go with a number of defenses, most of which have little to no real jail time, from a primal fear for her life to temporary insanity. Pausing shows she was thinking and in control of her actions. Granted, she did kill him _after _he tried to kill her so again those reasons _could_ still be used _except _she showed remorse after the explosion and then tried to kill herself."

"Ra/v/en did _what?_" yelled the three Titans who weren't privy to that fact.

Turning to the display on the wall connected to her laptop the lawyer played one of the videos that gave a clear view she paused it right at the point Raven looked at her hands as the people ran around her.

"Right here. She's looking at her hands as if questioning what she just did. Then we move forward a bit as the building falls. She looks up and sees it. She's not making any effort to move out of the way and spreads her arms. Before coming here I saw this video and then reviewed other footage of your battles. Not once did Raven ever take a stance like that; from my point of view, and likely that of the prosecution as well, that's remorse and atonement which are hallmarks of understanding one's actions and basic right and wrong. Then move forward another three seconds and she sees the elderly couple and their grandkid and immediately moves to save them. This further shows she was in control of and understood the consequences of her actions. "

Raven looked down at the table guiltily as the other Titans shifted uncomfortably looking at her trying to get their heads around what the lawyer said. Robin looked between the lawyer and Raven when something suddenly jumped to the forefront of his mind.

"So what you're saying is that you think Raven should make a plea. That this is an unwinnable case and no matter what we're screwed?"

"Robin-" started Raven only to have Robin cut her off.

"No! I refuse to see one of us go down like this. Not after the fights we've had, pain we've endured, and sacrifices we've made for this city. Not like this. What's the real story here?"

"The real story?" asked Cyborg quietly voicing what the other Titans were asking themselves.

"The real story? Okay here it is." sighed the lawyer taking off her glasses and slowly massaging the bridge of her nose.

"You kids have stepped into a big goddamned mess. Robin, you know of the split in the league and probably why as well. Right now more attention than ever is being focused on the League and metahumans in general. With Batman being the last of the original Six to leave and all of the others either dead, gone, or like Superman, only showing up for the worst disasters and situations… the League and the other super groups like yourselves, are being looked at more and more by Earth's governments as a potential threat or subversive force." she said leveling a cold but understanding look at the Titans.

"Between the Justice Lords, the white Martian and Thanagarian invasions, when Darkseid controlled Superman, the failures of Cadmus and the superhero community's increasingly aggressive stance on dealing with villains in general…" she said while ticking off the five points on her hand.

"Never has the government been more concerned about us metas." The lawyer concluded.

"_Us_ metas?" said Raven looking up at the lawyer.

"I'm not a hero per se as it's never suited me but have a decent amount of telekinesis at my disposal. Rather tame by most standards but enough that for a long time I didn't know where to go or belong. Now I'm on the League's payroll. I have to let you know there's a lot of high profile attention on this case."

Seeing she had the Titan's undivided attention.

"If you walk the government will push for stronger actions and limits on meta-humans. Likely some sort of registration act which could only end in a civil war as metas, not heroes or villains, but metas as a _whole_ chose sides with humanity in the middle. If they throw the book at you then they create a martyr. Unacceptable from their position for the obvious reasons and ours too as less restrained metas can then use you for propaganda as an example of normals persecuting metas."

"So what you're saying is 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.'? Is that right?" asked Raven quietly immediately thinking back to her previous night's conversation with Robin.

"Exactly." said the lawyer.

* * *

><p>Everyone knew she could fly in the abstract sense because among metas it was nothing special. Fewer though knew how much control it took. Too slow and she'd never make it anywhere, too fast and she'd cause sonic booms as she broke the sound barrier which was understandably a big deal over cities. Even fewer than that understood that she, and a select few others, could achieve escape velocity and leave Earth altogether with no ill affects.<p>

Hurtling through the air just under Mach one Starfire casually turned around and looked backwards, Jump City just dipped under the horizon, in twenty minutes she'd be passing Keystone and in another hour or so she'd be over Metropolis. Her powers, much like Raven's, were tied to her emotions, her flight by the love of her friends and her star bolts by righteous fury. As she looked back her bright orange hair whipping past her ears almost loudly enough to silence the wind roaring past.

'_Why can't this drown out the words that were said in court…_' she thought with her tears being dried the moment they left her eyes.

'_We care so much… how I wish I could take her away from this with me.'_

~That day in court~

The prosecutor looked at the witness.

"What did you see?"

"I saw it smash its hands together and grind them."

"Would you say it looked like she enjoyed it?"

"Ye-"

"Objection your honor: Leading the witness." Raven's lawyer interjected.

"I'll rephrase. What would you describe Miss Raven's facial expression as?"

"Cruel and happy."

Murmurs ran through the courtroom as the Titans bristled at Raven being referred to as 'it'.

The judge banged his gavel. "Order in the court!"

~In the skies over Keystone City~

'_Why would they say those things after all she's done for them and the city!'_ she furiously thought as with an anguished cry she turned and absently shattered the sound barrier with a condensation bubble forming and exploding around her without any notice. She rapidly flew over Keystone and through Gotham's airspace deep in her thoughts and memories.

~The following day in court~

"Doctor Lewis. Based on your professional opinion what would you say on Miss Raven's mental state based upon your own observations."

"Clearly remorseful."

"Would you say she realized what she'd done?"

"Objection: Conjecture." said Raven's lawyer.

"Overruled. Doctor please answer the question." said the judge.

"Yes. Showing remorse shows an understanding of right and wrong."

"Would you consider her a danger to society and the public at large?"

"Based on what I've seen? Yes. While she shows remorse she also ignored what she had to have known to be laws, rules and societal group norms. While such actions are permissible under extremely specific situations this wasn't one of them. Those actions, reactions, and choices suggest to me that given the right factors she could do the same thing again and likely on a much larger scale."

~The skies over Metropolis~

'_There are countless worlds where she would be welcome…where we would all be welcome…_' thought Starfire too deep in her own mind to realize she was leaving the atmosphere.

'_Why do we stay on a world that increasingly hates us despite all the good we and other heroes have done?_'

The Watchtower blurred past.

'_Would they not make it just fine without us?_'

Suddenly realizing she couldn't hear anything Starfire looked around. Earth's moon loomed in the distance.

* * *

><p>Click.<p>

Servos almost silently whirring in a hand moving with precision far beyond human.

Click.

A short hiss of air blowing small specks of dust off an optical connection.

Click.

A red cybernetic eye zoomed in cycling from the visible spectrum to near infrared looking for thermal irregularities in what appeared to be a solid piece of titanium with glass somehow woven seamlessly into the metal.

Cyborg loved to immerse himself in this project whenever he needed to completely occupy his mind; both his wetware and hardware. The Antikythera Mechanism.

He and other ninth level intellects had already determined the original function, a gravimetric gyro scale for some sort of spacecraft. That was the easy part. The hard part was determining the _rest_ of guidance system that went with it. For a long while he'd theorized that it went with some sort of FTL system as those absolutely must have precise measurements or they could fly through a star or bounce too close to a supernova.

'_and that'd end a trip real quick._' he though.

With a sigh Cyborg put down his tools and sat down. He still couldn't get his mind off of the events of that day.

~The first day of the discovery section of the trial~

"Your honor" began the prosecution "Raven is a psychic of some renowned. The prosecution would like to request that she wear inhibitor bracelets for the duration of the trial."

"Your honor, such an action is both unconstitutional and without cause. At any point Raven could have altered or controlled anyone in this room. She hasn't." countered Raven's lawyer.

"She hasn't _yet_."

"If any other villain was on trial we'd have inhibitor bracelets on them. Raven shouldn't be exempt from that rule."

Raven started at being compared to a villain and she couldn't deny it either. While the prosecutor and hey lawyer and friends argued in the background she just sat with a look of sad resignation and made up her mind and stood up.

All eyes flashed to her.

"I'll wear them."

With a roar Cyborg smashed his hand down easily shattering the workbench sending his tools and projects flying. He sat down and did something that he hadn't done in years at the thought of his little sister being bound like that.

He cried.

* * *

><p>~ Two thousand feet under the Pacific a few miles from Jump City bay~<p>

Logically when Beast Boy changed from a human into something else he _should_ have become part of the local food chain if possible. He used to think about it whenever he was something small and furry. Then it was whenever he was something that swam. Lately with the stress of trial leaning on everyone it wasn't even in the back of his mind. Like the others he had things he liked to do to unwind and with the atmosphere in the Tower like that of a Death Row on an execution night playing games in the living room just felt _wrong_. His special place was as an angler fish so far down in the ocean there was no light save for his own. He wasn't really the thoughtless hyperactive kid that he was frequently portrayed as in the media. It was down here that he could pretend everything was over and just listen and feel the ocean's currents in ways only a fish could understand.

He might be the youngest and make an effort to be the 'funny one' but he wasn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination. He knew that Raven, his surrogate big sister, was beating herself up over this whole thing and seemed to grow sadder by the day. Like the other Titan's he'd been in court with the Titan's East and other part timers covering for them which was a good thing for the criminals of Jump City.

Being a criminal in any city was a brutally Darwinian existence. If you're dumb you're caught or killed. Jump's criminal underground followed that same rule but with an addendum that any criminal in a city with a superhero knew.

Don't piss off people who can flip over a car with a finger.

That rule got reinforced in terrible detail after Beast Boy was on patrol and ran down a rapist, as a cheetah, which should have been a hint to anyone that this wasn't an ordinary kid. Criminals aren't typically known for being staggering intellects so he expected that when he pulled a knife the kid would run. He wasn't expecting said kid to change into something straight out of Jurassic Park and chase him for the better part of a mile while purposefully nipping and clawing at him. When the man couldn't run anymore Beast Boy turned back into his base form and approached the raggedly breathing man bleeding on the ground his elfin form seemingly more intimidating the raptor he'd just been.

He scrambled away from Beast Boy quickly backing himself against a wall.

"P-Please.." stuttered the beaten man.

"Please? **Please?** You just hurt that girl in a way that's can't be fixed." Growled Beast Boy remembering the girl's slight resemblance to Raven, "Because you're stronger than her you can't take what you want!"

A crowd was gathering.

"You are everything wrong with being human. And they say _we're_ the monsters." yelled Beast Boy.

Out of nowhere a bottle flew over Beast Boy's head to shatter on the wall.

"Leave him alone!" shouted one person in the crowd.  
>"Go back where you came from!" shouted another.<p>

The crowd started to close in on Beast Boy. He quickly changed into a grizzly bear and let out a terrifying roar. Most of the crowd turned and ran but a few stayed. Each of them took out a gun.

'_Ok then… let's see how they like a T-Rex._' thought Beast Boy going through the quick mental focusing it took to become something so large.

Suddenly bird-shaped shuriken struck each one of the men's hands forcing them to drop their weapons.

Robin dropped in from the rooftop just in time to calm Beast Boy down with a single quick whisper.

"_This __won't__ help Raven._"

Beast Boy stopped and looked around. No one was anywhere near them. They all were terrified. Not knowing what to say he changed into a hawk and left the scene for Robin to deal with.

After that word got around.

The Titans had taken off the gloves.

Jump's criminals went to ground while the press had a field day.

"Can we trust the superheroes?" was the general headline.

With a mental sigh Beast Boy quickly surfaced changing into things best suited for each depth without a thought before jumping through the water's surface as a dolphin and changing into a condor to glide back to the Tower.

Was it wrong to wish he had never went after that rapist and almost certainly made Raven's situation even worse?

* * *

><p>~Raven's Room~<p>

Raven had long since given up any hope of a normal sleep schedule. With the things being said in the trial, her imbalances from not having her powers at her disposal and all the attention this trial was getting she just wished it'd all be over one way or another.

Everyone expected the jury deliberations to be over soon.

She didn't need to be a psychic to see the hate in their eyes.

'_All I wanted to do is help. I fought against my nature for years. Killed my father and literally saved the world. I don't think I should be forgiven but I don't think all of this hate is justified. I really wanted to believe that things weren't getting that bad out there but here's proof._'

She got up and looked into her bathroom mirror. Her eyes had dark rings and her hair was listless. She had lost fifteen pounds while dealing with the stress of the trial and having her powers locked away. With a starting weight of 110 pounds that didn't leave much to work with. She knew she looked like hell and was getting weaker.

'_At this rate I think I'll die, I didn't know how much I really needed my powers to keep my health up when I volunteered to wear the bracelets. I suppose it'd be fitting in a way if I died after being stripped of my powers which I used irresponsibly._'

She sat down and took more of the Ambien that Cyborg had given her.

'_Non-addictive my ass…_' Raven thought darkly as she took the only thing that gave her sleep these days.

* * *

><p>~The last day in court~<p>

The jury had been in deliberations for a week, twice they'd returned split verdicts on all counts, but the judge had rejected each finding, instead instructing them to go at it again.

Something that is both a critical flaw and strength of the US Justice System is the concept of trial by jury. You can generally only get on a jury if you can prove you don't know anything about the case and the higher profile the case is the harder that rule is to fulfill. The only people whom both the defense and prosecution would approve were those absolutely clueless about the state of the world in general. In a case like Raven's the outcome was almost etched in stone.

"Your honor. We find Raven Roth guilty on all counts of Manslaughter in the Second Degree."

* * *

><p>AN:<p>

Yeah… I'm a bastard.  
>I tried to make what's a pretty boring thing (a murder trial) into something interesting by wrapping the Titan's responses around different parts that resonated uniquely with each one's nature and personality. I'm trying to balance a fine line between being a wordslut or being concise. 'Brevity is the soul of wit.' And all that. If my wording gets to be too much or my formatting is confusing let me know.<p>

BritKaneLover: _Thanks for the encouragement. I wanted to write something that made people think and not just on the plot but on the big picture. Think about the panicky nature of my country today. This past weekend two people tried to join the mile high club and fighter jets got scrambled. Can you imagine the response of my country in a scenario like this?_

NCIS-SVUgurl: _Thanks I work hard to be descriptive without coming off as pretentious. _

Tethika: _How's this for more characters? _

xXBlackRavenXx: Where to begin… first off love your work. The piece you just finished with Rae/Jinx and the shadow man was great. I laughed my ass off when Beast Boy outted them like that. You make me want to write a lemon one-shot series between the multiple parings… except for Terra/Raven… I'm leaving that for anim8tur in '_Left to Love_'. I'm toying with taking Raven in a completely different direction. What *is* it that Slade wants?


	9. Hidden

I don't own the Teen Titans or any DC properties for that matter, if I did I'd treat them a hell of a lot better.

Beating the game Ch9 – Hidden

~An undisclosed location~

Sitting alone with many monitors surrounding him a man impassively gazes at one in particular. One displaying the culmination of the first part of his Plan. His plan to break the Titans, not defeat them, not to get Robin as an apprentice, but to break them beyond any irrevocable chance of repair.

The Plan.

Plans by their very nature must be organic flowing things, always fluidly shifting and adapting to changing situations and goals. This was one of the first lessons any soldier learns. He learned this lesson as well. First in the secret training the military gave him, then with the near death of his son from a botched contract, and then his near blinding by his ex's attempt on his life.

Plans change.

What was originally a plan to destroy the Titans by converting Robin to his apprentice changed to their death by twisting the geo-kinetic, Terra, against them.  
>Then Trigon's resurrection of his charred remains as the demon's living weapon against the Titans.<br>Then helping the Titans, or more specifically Raven, to kill Trigon.

Plans change.

Watching as Raven was led out of the courtroom in power restraining bracelets while the Titans looked on with tears openly streaming, he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride and attraction to her. Not crying or struggling, stoically accepting of her fate and the very look of propriety as she walked. She would be his in every way. Her power was God-like; he'd seen that himself as she killed, no destroyed, Trigon. There wasn't even a soul left.

'_That's not death_' he mused '_That's_ _being_ _destroyed._'

He could see the raging well of emotion she was beneath the smooth veneer of her public persona. He was certain that inwardly she wasn't nearly as composed as she appeared. He could appreciate that. He was guilty of allowing Robin to push his buttons and make him sloppy at the most inopportune moments. He could respect that.

'_Yes. Robin you were to be my greatest achievement._' thought Slade as he looked on as the newscast zoomed in on the Titans' grief-stricken faces '_but in retrospect it was hubris, on my part, that I thought you'd want an opportunity to be out of Wayne's shadow._'

Long ago Slade had deduced the identity of Robin's anonymous benefactor and upon further reflection his true origins. He never revealed or capitalized on this as it could have only served to galvanize Robin against him and would have undoubtedly brought the full wrath of the Justice League down upon him. He'd have been a fool to pick that fight from anything even approaching a head-on course.

'_Raven on the other hand. With her nearly flawless control of her feelings, save for the one's I chose to exploit over the past two years, is perfect for my plans._' he thought while absently listening to, but still mentally cataloging everything said, the newscaster droning on about the events that led to this moment. Despite everything he'd done she'd still remained true to her principles. It was obvious to anyone, as the newscaster said, Raven had planned to see this through and accept whatever came of it.

Plans change.

He looked to a lithe body floating in a stasis tube.

Getting up to start the next phase of his plan he idly thought with a sigh and slight chuckle.

'_She's easy on the eyes too… at least other villains will stop thinking I'm after little boys…_'

~A high security comline~

"We need to talk." a gruff voice said.

"When and where?" a younger but just as serious voice answered.

"Gotham. Safe house Bravo Two. Tomorrow at 2345."

~Titan Tower~

Eight years.

Ninety six months.

Four hundred sixteen weeks.

Two thousand nine hundred twenty two days.

"Raven you don't really need to go through with this. We can get you away from this. You can always hide in Azaroth. That trial wasn't even remotely fair." implored Cyborg as Raven was packing the meager things she was allowed.

"Friend Raven, please listen to Cyborg. There are places in this galaxy where you'd be welcomed." pleaded the young alien too sad to fly.

"Raven… please don't do this." asked Beast Boy with unshed tears in his eyes.

Robin stared on in silence knowing that Raven had already resigned herself to this fate and that there was nothing that any of them could say to sway her from this fate she'd accepted.

Raven looked gaunt with the stress of the trial, the limitations of her powers and the impending knowledge of her imprisonment wearing her. Released on her own recognizance she awaited her sentencing as a small nod to her soon-to-be former status of hero. She mentally cataloged the few things she could have. Some of the items and the limits behind them an affront to her dignity and integrity:

A couple sets of plain white t-shirts, underwear with no elastic, and sneakers with no metal parts - As if she'd shank someone like a common hood.

A few religious books - That would be carefully looked over by Zatanna as if she were looking to escape using mystical means she'd already had plenty of opportunity to use.

No sharp items. – Again she'd felt as if she was being compared to a common murderer.

The worst insult she knew she'd have to endure would be The Search – Stripping in front of some older guard slash prison "nurse", no correctional officer, she'd have to remember they liked to be called that, putting her fingers inside her.

There would be a tube of expired KY jelly or Vaseline knockoff and a latex glove being put on with a loud snap. Squat down and cough. Move her fingers to another even more private place. Squat down and cough.

She shivered at the thought of being violated in such a way.

While others were stark reminders of what she'd lost and never regain.

Pictures of her friends. - She wasn't she if she really wanted to keep those. A reminder of what she was and would never be again.

She could already see in their eyes and almost feel the small slivers in each of their minds that were working to slowly distance themselves from her and this situation. She doubted they even realized it. She'd read of this.

They'd say they'd visit and they do. Then slowly over time the visits become shorter and fewer. Then only for holidays or other important days. Finally they'd stop altogether.

They'd say they'd write and they do. Then slowly over time the letters become shorter and fewer. Then only for holidays or other important days. Finally those would stop altogether.

Then finally whatever other support, be it money or just approved snacks, from the outside would just stop.

Her friends and only family would forget her and move on.

She wondered '_If no one thinks of me or remembers me, am I really alive?_'

Robin cleared his throat.

"Guys, can I have a minute with Raven?"

The other Titans taking a hint gave them their space and left the room.

"Raven. I've been… called away to Gotham. I'm sure you know who and likely why."

Nodding briefly Raven went back to packing. She tried to rationalize it. Reason it out. Try as she might she kept thinking about what she'd read and then Robin leaving for Gotham.

'_Probably getting Batman's suggestions, no _instructions_, on whom to replace me with._'

"While he didn't say what it was about I'm thinking it's about adding another team member. I don't want to do that. You'll always have a place here. I think there may be something else to the visit too as he normally doesn't request my presence unless he's found something that can't be trusted to secure channels." Added Robin watching Raven check the meager belongings she could take for a tenth time in as many hours.

'_I hate being right sometimes. I really want to believe you, I truly do, but there's no place for me here._'

"Look, Robin, I understand my role on the team. I'm the heavy hitter and mystical expert. I know I've got expertise that you'll need while I'm gone. Who's on the list?"

"Just Jinx from out east. There's no one else who knows how we operate or that can come close to doing what she can."

'_Jinx? Her! Who's next Terra or someone else who made a serious effort at killing the Titans and the city?_'

"She's a good choice and her knowledge of magic will serve you guys well."

Robin crossed the room and stood near Raven.

Seeming to come to a decision Robin removed his mask. Shocked lilac eyes looked into deep cerulean ones.

"No one can replace you. Not Jinx, not Kid Flash, not Bumblebee, not Supergirl. You _are_ our heavy hitter and mystical expert but you're more than that. More than that to any of us. To me."

"Robin. Please don't." pleaded Raven not wanting to hear the words she knew were coming.

"Raven, I'll never stop trying to free you. This isn't how this is supposed to end. Not after everything we've been through together."

"Robin, I-"

Raven's voice failed her as Robin rushed in a captured her lips in a kiss. Never before had she felt such a way and couldn't help but melt into his embrace and deepen the kiss as they fell back onto her bed.

Later as Robin emerged with slightly tussled hair and adjusting his uniform the other Titans had found things to do that were suddenly very engrossing. Looking out into the common room he caught Beast Boy's eyes.  
>A slight smirk was on his face.<p>

'_Of course he'd know._' thought Robin not wondering for the first time how often Beast Boy knew things with his nose people would rather keep secret.

Cyborg looked up from his arm mounted computer and caught Robin's eyes as well.  
>Another small smirk was found.<p>

'_Him too?_' thought Robin realizing Cyborg's enhanced hearing probably heard them despite the soundproofing and their efforts to be quiet.

Starfire looked up at him from feeding Silkie a few old shoes.  
>She looked at Robin with a beaming smile.<p>

'_Oh come on… was it really _that_ obvious?_' glad that the rolling of his eyes couldn't be seen.

"Guys, we'll probably be bringing Jinx onboard. Batman wanted to see me for something though. My gut says he found something that can help Raven but couldn't trust it to our secured channels for some reason. I should be back by morning."

~Few hours later~

A chime sounded throughout the Tower.  
>A cold squirt of adrenaline went through Raven's stomach.<br>They were here for her and she felt a primal fear screaming for her to run. To reach into the depths of her psyche and unleash the power she'd been holding back 'just in case'.  
>She clamped down on it like a steel vice.<br>She looked at her room one last time as she walked out to surrender to the metahuman prison transport boat waiting on their dock.

~Gotham City~

Robin carefully landed on a cathedral overhanging the safe house. Over the years he and Batman had worked out a network of safe houses in major cities all over the world. Gotham was home and they knew its hidden nooks and crannies. This was one such spot. Development by Wayne Industries subsidiaries and shell corporations had all but boxed the rundown house in from all sides save a few clear line of sight approaches. It was officially property of the church and after the companies gave a token effort at getting the church to sell and getting the city government to declare Eminent Domain the corporations moved on.

Quickly leaning over the edge and gauging the jump with his mask's built-in range finder Robin readied his grappling hook and prepared to jump.

A large firm hand landed on Robin's shoulder.

"You wanted to see me?" Robin said knowing the list of people who could approach him that silently in Gotham was very short. Only one name was on it.

"You know what happened with Raven right?"

"Yes, she was placed in a bad situation, some of the increasingly random violence in Jump, and lost control for a moment."

"Wrong. There was nothing random about it."

Robin tensed thinking back on his late night conversation with Raven. Why was something tickling his mind on that night? What seemed so off about the whole situation?

"Robin, I've been tracking some underground movements. Mostly by HAL, the Human Action League, but other anti-metahuman hate groups as well. Groups like this typically have a core set of values that they share with others of the same ilk. What usually separates and differentiates them from each other are resources and goals. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Someone looks to be pulling the strings on this. The quality of weapons getting into the hands of these guys is military-grade. Not knockoffs and used hardware either. The uptick in violence isn't a coincidence either. I've been monitoring communications in these groups and each one of them is being funneled drugs, money, and hardware by a larger controlling party. I still don't know who or why."

"If it were just Jump I'd say someone with a grudge against the Titans but it's happening here too isn't it?"

"Yes it is. Aside from Huntress there aren't any other metahumans in Gotham. Which is what's confusing and making me think either someone has bad intel, it's a large scale assault against heroes in general, or it's something much larger and only makes sense from a certain point of view."

"Where's Raven fit into this?" asked Robin looking for any additional insights with the new information.

"Aside from she's, by far, the most powerful member of the Titans. This could be an effort to assault the most powerful among us. Then position pieces for a masterstroke against metas in general. I don't think someone is attacking your team directly. I think she was a name on a list."

"Okay then-"

Batman's hand flew to the side of his cowl and he let loose a silent gasp.

"MOVE!" he yelled diving off the roof.

Conditioned reflexes boarding on precognition kicked into top gear for Robin as he quickly followed suit and jumped down. Sprinting for the safe house a bright searing flash of heat and a wave of overpressure crashed into them. Broken glass rained from the surrounding buildings while a thunderous cacophony of falling steel and concrete played around them. Every building around them was leveled burying the safe house.

~Titan Tower~

Alarm klaxons blared as Robin's communicator was severely damaged before dropping off the grid. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire quickly ran into the main room. Shutting off the alarm Cyborg quickly assimilated the information being displayed. His face was ashen as he read through the final data transmitted before the device's destruction. A shockwave exceeding three hundred pounds of force per square inch with a 150 decibel noise combined with the communicator quickly being heated to over 1,500 degrees before it failed.

The others looking at Cyborg's face knew that the news was anything but good.

"Cy, what happened…" asked Beast Boy dreading the answer.

"Robbie… his communicator…" he choked out in a whisper so quiet it might have well been though a bullhorn.

"Something has happened to Robin?" quietly asked Starfire.

"His communicator was destroyed in a very large explosion. I… I-I think he might have been wearing it."

"No…" said Starfire with tears freely flowing.

"No way, dude. Robin can't be gone too."

"I want to think so too but I can't reach him or Batman. I'm contacting the Watchtower."

Sitting down on their couch with a thump with his face in his hands Beast Boy took account of everything taken from them in such a short time.

'_Raven's gone and now Robin is too._' he morosely thought.

Alarms suddenly sounded again along with the rapid discharge of plasma rounds with a rumble that sounded like distant rolling thunder.

"Guys! We've got trouble!" yelled Cyborg.

"What now!" loudly groaned Beast Boy.

"We're under attack from literally all directions. The Tower's automated missile defenses are online and handling it. It looks like something is happening on the pier. Oh man, the transport is under attack by those Human Action League assholes! Let's go!"

Unbeknownst to the Titans the missiles were a distraction. The real attack was in geosynchronous orbit 120 miles above Jump City, directly above the Tower, in the form of a large satellite. On all the registries it was listed as a weather satellite that had failed and was waiting to be safely de-orbited. Its purpose was much more sinister. Housed inside it was a solid ten ton beryllium-tungsten tapered cylinder aimed directly down. One of the military's secret weapons meant to get around nuclear weapon treaties had been quietly hacked and diverted from its intended targets. Small charges split the satellite apart and rockets sent the hardened cylinder hurtling downward quickly reaching a terminal velocity of almost two thousand miles per hour. Its function was an eloquently simple equation of force equals mass times acceleration.

In a few minutes it would hit the island with the force of a small nuclear weapon.

The Titans turned to run to the elevator when Cyborg stopped them short.

"Guys, we need a plan before rushing out there. Star get in the sky and see if you can find who's directing this attack. You're looking for a boat with many antennae or a sub. Anyone with binoculars on a high building is also suspect. Do whatever you have to bring them in." said Cyborg getting a terse nod from the young alien.

"Beast Boy I need you to change into something small and fast and get over to the transport. Once over there, stomp any and every one, attacking that transport."

Another tight nod.

"I'll get the Watchtower on line, Robin getting taken out along with this is not a coincidence. TITANS GO!" yelled Cyborg loud enough to shake the windows.

Not wanting to waste a moment Starfire quickly blasted out a window into the sky dodging missiles. She flew over the water raising a frothing wake as she looked for whoever had decided that this was the night to attack them. A bolt of plasma flew over her head as she neared what looked to be one of the piers near the city. She more dodged more before unleashing her own starbolts in response. The response was an immediate beam of light homing in on her and temporarily blinding her to the multiple incoming missiles and plasma bolts. She was quickly knocked from the sky into the bay. Blinking away the spots and afterimages in her eyes and shaking her head to clear the ringing in her ears she quickly flew into the air and kept up a continuous barrage of starbolts.

At that moment Beast Boy was wreaking a fearsome havoc upon the attackers on the pier. They were all wearing the armbands of the Human Action League. That was all he needed to know as something inside him broke. Without another thought he transformed into the Beast and tore into them with reckless abandon.

Not even bothering to fight it he gave into his animalistic impulses.

Soon all he could hear was his own breath and heartbeat as his vision faded to a red haze.

Grab that one and squeeze.  
>Punch that one.<br>Throw that one.  
>Bite that one.<br>Claw that one.

He fell into frenzy and as he broke the bodies of the men he let loose a bestial roar further terrifying those who were still standing.

~At the Tower~

Static. That was all Cyborg could get on any gear.  
>"Watchtower this is Titan tower with a priority request for assistance."<br>Quickly thinking Cyborg turned and ran to the garage.  
>'<em>If I can get outside this jamming in the T-car then we might make it through this.<em>'

~In the skies above the pier~

Panting at the expenditure of so much energy Starfire looked at the smoking remains of the attack forces equipment. The entire thing was automated and they were nowhere nearby. She yelled in frustration as she turned and searched for another likely target.

~On the pier~

Beast Boy roared as a searing bolt of plasma lanced into him burning a hole clear through his abdomen cauterizing the wound as it exited. As he faded into his base form and went into shock he could only watch as the transport crew attempted to fight off the remaining HAL members but were quickly overwhelmed.

Struggling and screaming Raven was dragged outside the transport by her hair. Fighting with all of her effort one of the men slammed a pistol into her temple and she went limp. Beast Boy could only look on as he figured Raven was about to die.

A sonic boom cracked through the skies over Jump catching everyone's attention just as a white hot man-made meteor slammed into the Titan's island all but completely obliterating it. Starfire was knocked from the sky for a second time as the shockwave hit her twisting her world into a wall of white noise that set her flying out of control right into the warehouses on pier.

The T-car that had just made it out of the garage went flying and came to rest on the beach having skipped over the water like a stone.

Beast Boy struggled to move as a wall of water crashed into the pier destroying it. Beast Boy, Raven, and her attackers washed out into the bay with most of the seaside buildings. Pulling upon hidden reserves he never knew he had the young teen transformed in a seal and navigated the quickly sinking rubble as best he could. Dodging and ignoring the broken bodies of men his eyes caught sight of a thin pale arm. Quickly transforming he grabbed Raven and swam with all his might to the surface. Finding some floating debris he held on panting with Raven on shoulder.

Staggering out of the nearby warehouse Starfire shakily took to the air and saw a sight that froze her heart. What appeared to be Beast Boy holding Raven out of the water. Swooping down she quickly gathered them up and got them to dry land.

In the mangled T-car a loud thumb was heard as a door dented outwards. With the screeching protest of torn metal the door flew off as Cyborg kicked it free and crawled out of the wreckage. With his motors audibly grinding and his exposed human flush leaking blood he struggled to his feet leaning against the car that'd been tossed like a child's toy. Looking out over the bay he could see the burning ruins of the island and the Tower in the distance. With his body protesting her ran as fast as he could over to where he saw Starfire land on the pier.

When he arrived they were hunched over a small figure. It was Raven. Her neck bent at an unnatural angle with her eyes open and frozen at some unseen terror. Shoulders shaking Cyborg reached over and closed her eyes.

As the League finally arrived they came upon the Titans huddled near the destroyed buildings.

"My God!" said Black Canary observing the devastation.

Quickly running up to the Titans she saw a terrible sight. Starfire openly sobbing while Cyborg held Raven silently shaking with Beast Boy passed out beside them while they stared at the remains of their island.

Blinking away watering she knew what had happened having seen more than her fair share.

A war had been fought and lost in this small city's seaside.

~A small heavily armored submarine under Jump City bay~

Advanced androids quickly and efficiently worked to stabilize a young woman's life as her new captor looked on.

He'd originally planned to break the Titans but why should he play those games with children when there were other much larger opponents he could defeat.

Plans change.

* * *

><p>AN:<p>

So… do you hate me now?

I really try to make you think and I'm hoping I did. Please review. After reading them, which I do whenever I'm feeling lazy, they motivate me to finish the story!

I'm only bringing the League in on the "edges" of this as this is the Titan's story but there's no way the League could ignore the complete destruction of Jump City's bay.

Don't worry they don't really help and later in the story you'll develop an intense hatred for them. :)


	10. Violation

I don't own the Teen Titans or any DC properties for that matter, if I did I'd treat them a hell of a lot better.

Beating the game Ch10 – Violation

* * *

><p>With a shuddering gasp Raven started awake. She quickly felt all over herself not finding any injuries with her head clearing of the typical fuzziness that came with waking up suddenly. Chest still heaving she threw off the covers on the bed and stood up looking around the room.<p>

There wasn't much to the room.

A simple bed in a corner with a night table beside it and an open door to a bathroom across from it.

A single window with sunlight filtering through and a faint breeze pushing the curtains.

A simple pine six-panel door with a plain silver knob.

All around nothing remarkable about the room yet Raven couldn't shake the feeling she was in enemy territory and in terrific danger.

Looking down at herself she saw she was in a simple set of cotton lilac pajamas. She took an inventory of her powers noticing there were no power nullification bracelets on her wrists.

Her wrists.

She noticed that there were no chaff marks or irritation where the bracelets were. There was only flawless pale gray skin with the slightly darker veins running to and fro.

She felt for her power, she felt for that cold dark power that gave her slight goose bumps every time she drew on it for the first time in a day.

There was nothing.

She felt deeper within herself unsealing that mental construct that she used to hold her power in check.

It was just a notch above totally giving in and letting go, it was a power so pure that despite its dark origins it was white.

Again there was nothing.

Raven was beyond puzzled and was, despite no outward sign, panicked as she cast about in her psyche for her power.

"Ahem." a smooth voice sounded behind her.

Raven whirled around and saw the red and black mask that all of the Titans knew and hated.

"Hello Raven. How are you feeling?" asked Slade sitting in a chair in a corner of the room.

Raven thought quickly.

"_I didn't hear him enter the room or see him? Was I so frantic that I missed him?_"

"You're wondering what's happening aren't you?"

"Yes. What's your plan here? You always have one." said Raven adopting her usual monotone, though it was strained as she frantically tried to access her powers harboring no illusions of fighting Slade on anything approaching fair otherwise.

"Clear. Concise. As controlled as always no matter the situation. Let's see how long that lasts." Said Slade rising from the chair and walking across the room to stand before her his hands held behind him in perfect parade rest.

"Thank you for the compliment."

"You're welcome. Tell me Raven, what do you know of cryptography?"

"Cryptography? Nothing really, you know I'm not the technical one of the Titans."

"DES. Data Encryption Standard. It's a pretty old algorithm and has been thoroughly beaten, from a mathematical attack standpoint and sheer brute force via advances in computing power from 1973 when it was first conceived as Lucifer by IBM." Expounded Slade as he slowly paced the room while Raven looked on lost as to the importance of this history lesson.

"The algorithm was very simple and after a bit of tinkering by the NSA, which actually made it resistant against a very specific attack, it was adopted as a standard. Everyone knew its inner workings and its strengths and weaknesses. Yet it held. It literally took decades of advances in both computer and mathematics to break it."

"What's any of this got to do with me?"

"I'm going to break your mind Raven. I'm going to bring you to my side as an apprentice and you will help me kill the Titans and then the Justice League. I'm going to twist your reality to a point where you'll even question if your name is Raven Roth, if Robin is really Richard Grayson, and if you're not just a girl having a delusional fantasy in an asylum."

Raven repressed a small shudder as even through all of the Titan's battles no one had ever so succinctly and casually described their plans to harm them.

"Raven you should know something. You're going to know all of these things and _still_ be absolutely loyal and willing help me. There will be no nanobots in your friend's blood waiting to kill them. There'll be no one tied to a chair about to be harmed if you don't help me. I'm going to make you do it and _more_ willingly." Said Slade in a voice that was as certain as someone stating the sky was blue with a look in his eye of something she couldn't quite place.

"How?" asked Raven extremely apprehensive knowing someone as methodical as Slade would never say something like that without being absolutely certain it'd come to pass.

"What's reality? Is it what you hear and see? Is it what you decide it is? We both know what you see can be any number of illusions and no matter how strong your will is if a bullet is flying toward your head its effects will be very real no matter what you believe."

"…"

"After our little fun with Trigon I started looking further into your power and how to work with it and found some very interesting things."

Raven remained silent while Slade listed off what he'd learned in a classic monolog. She opened her senses to the room, straining to hear or smell anything that'd give her a hint as to where she was. She kept her eyes on him at all times but she found her attention beginning to inexplicably drift towards one corner of the room.

"Interesting isn't it?" Slade suddenly said grabbing her attention again.

"Yes it is."

"What is?"

"What you said."

"What did I say?"

Raven realized that to be maneuvered into such a verbal sparring position with such ease spoke volumes about her state of mind with a growing of something being dreadfully wrong with whatever place Slade had stuck her.

"What's your game here Slade? What do you really want?"

"Really? Well since you asked nicely… you."

"You already said that. That you want an apprentice."

"Are you sure Rachael? Is it ok if I call you that?" asked Slade sitting down across from her.

"You can call whatever you want… and yes I'm sure."

"I actually said "I want a sandwich.""

"Please look over there and tell me what you see."

Raven turned and saw that the room had somehow doubled in size without her noticing and she stood and watched herself talking with Slade and handing him a sandwich. It was no hologram and then there was the sound. A perfect echo with none of the small audible artifacts you could normally hear in android speech patterns.  
>'<em>So not robots then…<em>" she thought while observing that there was nothing to stop her from going over there and seeing how real that thing that looked like her was.

With a quick glance over at Slade and seeing he made no effort to stop her she ran up to the pair and stepped between them.

"Hello Raven. How are you feeling?" asked the second Slade.

"What the hell is going on here?" asked the second Raven.

"That's what I'd like to know too." The first Raven muttered trying to wrap her head around whatever was going on. She looked at her double and then lashed out with a quick jab intent on trying to disrupt what she assumed was a hologram wrapped around an actor like the hologram watches that Beast Boy and Cyborg wore when they wanted to be incognito in public.

"Hey!" Yelled the second Raven standing up holding her nose.

Suddenly pain flared in the first Raven's nose and she quickly brought her hand up to pinch what she knew was a bloody nose. Looking down at her hand she turned and looked at the end table for a cloth or tissue of some sort. She saw a box of tissue and after grabbing a handful she wiped her hand and then stuffed a wad in her nose to stop the bleeding. Intent on asking what happened she looked up and saw that the other room was gone.

"What are you doing?" growled Raven as she whirled to face Slade.

He was gone.

Looking around she saw no sight of him. Again he managed to move without her noticing. Realizing she was stuck wherever she was for the moment she decided to try and see how much of her power she could access if she took some time to meditate. Sitting down on the bed she sat in the familiar lotus style and straightened her back mentally opening her chest and turning her focus inward listening to the beat of own her heart as a focal point. She felt her breathing slow and then braced herself for the brief bout of dizziness that she always felt when pulling on her power deeply or after a long sleep. She could tell she was getting to that point. She felt the prickling of her skin and she couldn't wait for the heady rush of power that followed. She'd never admit it to anyone but she got off on it and the more power she used the better it felt; she'd always suspected her father put this there to encourage her to use it. She felt herself get to that perfect focal point. She steadied her breathing and prepared to pull and feel her power.

Searing pain.

Screaming as she'd never screamed before with pain so intense she actually fell off the bed she was sitting on and on the floor writhing as she tried to frantically put out what she thought must be the fires of Hell all over her.

Suddenly it was gone. All of the pain. Not even a tingle remained as she lay on the grass with her chest heaving and head still ringing from what had to have been some sort of attack.

Wait grass?

Rolling over and pushing herself up on her hands and knees Raven looked around and tried to figure out what had happened. Now she was in the middle of a field on a perfect summer day without any indication of a building in sight. How'd she get here?

Stumbling to her feet Raven tried to get her equilibrium back as she looked around for any indication of civilization.

"Amazing isn't it?"

Raven spun around towards the voice and saw Slade standing in the glade again no indication he'd even arrived.

"How are you doing this?"

"I'll show you but first you need to know the rules."

"Rules? Is this some sort of sick game?"

"Some sort of game? Yes. Sick? Hardly… but I guess that's a matter of opinion. Anyway here are the rules.  
>1. You must fight back.<br>2. You can attempt to get help by any means necessary.  
>3. You follow whatever rules I tell you apply for that time."<p>

"Let's say I play along with you… how do I win?"

"When you do whatever I say without question. Now I'll show you how I'm doing this."

It was if the world dropped away to nothing in all directions at an incredible speed.

* * *

><p>It was dark and wet.<p>

She felt like she was lying in a bath tub full of oil. Her eyes opened and slowly adjusted to the dim lighting. Everything was tinted pink as she swiveled her head around looking down at head body. Tubes, probes and catheters ran every which way in the pink liquid around her. She tried to move her arms to pull them out but found them securely tied down. She realized in another moment that she was naked and there was something else dreadfully wrong. She couldn't feel it. Her powers were always in the background requiring constant control from her every moment. There was always a pressure begging to be released in a near orgasmic display of destruction.

There was nothing there now.

She tried to touch her other selves.

Again there was nothing there.

She looked around and could see men in the background holding some sort of prayer beads and though she couldn't hear it through the small motions of their lips they were chanting something. She felt a push on her mind from off to the left and noticed two men chanting together and then one rose while the other sat, and then the pressure stopped as the now standing monk stopped speaking.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw something.

There were thick bundles of wire floating next to her head. She started to hyperventilate into the oxygen mask she was wearing realizing they were leading to what she could now feel as small piercings all over her head. She then realized with mounting terror after she had moved around to try and look for her captor(s) that she felt the probes move seemingly within her skin. Not even Raven could remain stoic after she finally understood what had happened and began screaming and frantically trying to tear out of her restraints to escape.

Slade had drilled hundreds of pins into her skull and brain and was directly manipulating her mind.

* * *

><p>AN: <em>Yeah it took a little while to get here as I kept debating on whether to rewrite the last chapter as I felt it was a bit rushed. What do you guys think?<em>


	11. Fire and pain

I don't own the Teen Titans or any DC properties for that matter, if I did I'd treat them a hell of a lot better.

Beating the game Ch11 – Fire and hurt

* * *

><p>"Move!"<p>

Reflexes honed to diamond precision kicked in at near preternatural speed as Robin jumped off the roof and felt the pressure wave of the nearby explosion. As the wave rolled over him it slightly altered his landing and he fell on the ground landing and then collapsing on his ankle. Pain was nothing new to the young crime fighter and though his head swam and his ears had a ringing in them he sought to regain his footing. As Robin scraped to his feet he could see his mentor somehow managed to shield him from a majority of the blast at the expense of his own safety. Digging deep into his reserves Robin ran over to Batman's position and ran towards the hidden entry hatch in the middle of the small house's backyard dragging him as best he could.

Another nearby explosion threw countless shards of glass in the air. The fragments pelted Robin's abused skin like a million hot needles as he hobbled as fast as he could to the hatch shielding himself as best he could with his Kevlar woven cape.

"_Here! It should be right here!_" Robin thought frantically as it didn't open at his approach as it should have with proximity to his communicator.

He quickly felt on his utility belt for his communicator and realized it was gone.

"_Shit! Must have lost it in that fall! Dammit Bruce why do you always disable your proximity open codes for things like this?_" He thought while digging around Batman's utility belt and finding the communicator.

Ripping off his glove and holding on to the communicator as its DNA scanner confirmed his identity another explosion threw concrete chunks around him and one glanced off his head and chest as he threw his body over Batman's prone figure knocking him senseless.

The hatch fell out from underneath them as the DNA triggered code was recognized and instantly the sled leading to the reinforced bunker far from the safe house quickly began moving.

On the ground above an acre of Hell was created as multiple missiles found their home at the base of the surrounding buildings and the yard leveling everything with searing walls of flame. The fast moving wall of fire obliterated everything in small yard as the shockwave bounced between the buildings punishing their superstructures far in excess of anything they'd ever been engineered to withstand.

A crack like a thousand bolts of lightning was heard for miles as the foundations of the massive building began to give way under the damage. A window shredding shriek gave way to the façade of structures slowly slipping into a waterfall of burning steel, concrete and glass as they fell inwards on the yard. Multiple explosions further scattered the buildings as gas lines were punctured and the severed electrical cables ignited them. As the buildings fell in all directions a massive wall of dust filled with debris from the offices in the building scattered for miles.

As the buildings were beginning their rain of death the sled with the two unconscious crime fighters was miles away just entering the huge bunker. Robin quickly came out of his daze in symphony of pain as the sled stopped and the lights and systems in the underground complex activated. Suddenly a gust of wind flew through the tunnel and the cries of the damn came with them.

Acting on reflex as his well-honed danger sense screamed at him he quickly rolled himself off the side of the sled and slammed his fist on the emergency seal button. As the door flew down propelled by explosive charges a large plume of hot dust and burning ash flew in and as the air cleared Robin there was a rumble so low he felt it more than heard and distantly realized that it was the tunnel they were just in was collapsing and was likely filled with fire. He shuddered for a moment thinking of what would have happened if he hadn't closed the door.

As the adrenalin in his system faded Robin began to shiver and pant as if he'd run a marathon. The stress and shock of the last few minutes finally caught up to him as the world got darker around him and tilted to the side.

Batman and Robin lay motionless on the floor as unbeknownst to them a well-coordinated attack with terrible consequences was happening that moment far away in Jump City.

Hours later with a groan Batman sat up as the world came into blurry focus. He felt as if he'd gone fifteen rounds with a sledge hammer and lost. Taking a quick inventory of his injuries as he'd had much practice of doing over the years he recognized that his leg was fractured if not broken outright and each breath felt like fire in his chest.

"_Broken ribs or badly cracked at least. Great._" He thought as with a grimace and pulled himself groaning to his feet leaning on a nearby wall for support.

Coughing up a bit of the dust he'd been covered in he looked around and saw he was in the bunker. He felt blood on his face and after taking stock of his injuries didn't think much of it but still took off his mask. Batman knew from experience that not taking care of a head wound with it dripping blood in his eyes would be the last thing he needed. Taking off his mask and carefully feeling for the laceration Bruce looked around for Robin. With a start he knew why he couldn't find a wound.

It wasn't his blood, it was Robin's.

Quickly hobbling over to him he quickly felt for a pulse and found a weak one. With his body protesting every move he picked up Robin and moved him over to a nearby first aid station and laid his limp body on the table. Automated scanners began their tasks of checking for injuries as Bruce removed the mask from Dick's face with a precise set of touches at seemingly random spots.

"Dick…" said Bruce with a heavy heart.

His mind immediately went back to pulling Jason's body from the wreckage the blown up warehouse in Sarajevo where the Joker had tortured him and left him for dead. Of all his failures as Batman, that one still hurt the most, and it was the reason he never took another sidekick. He couldn't stand to lose another one. He'd always looked to Dick and Jason as the sons he'd never had and likely never would. As Batman he'd always known his mission and was certain that it'd end in his death. He wasn't planning it but he'd long ago accepted the odds that one day he'd be a step too slow. He'd not duck in time. He'd have a gangbanger get a lucky shot in. One of the many super villains from his personal gallery of rogues in Gotham would get lucky.

As the machine continued cataloging Dick's injuries Bruce went to a nearby changing area and started to remove his uniform. As strong as it was and with as many improvements he'd made over the years, the scars on his now visible on his skin, told the tale of the origin and reason for each improvement. Despite all of that protection he knew that veritable maps of bruises were under his armor and with a loud hiss of pain he reached up and released the fasteners holding it on. He let it drop to the floor as he began to painfully remove his uniform's pants each movement sending red hot sharp pains throughout his torso. As he broke the hermetic seals on his boats the automated scanner made a loud tone that its initial diagnostic was done.

Donning a set of loose dark sweats he grabbed a nearby crutch from the wall and quickly hopped over to the machine and read through results.

"_Multiple lacerations from glass, a concussion, a broken ankle, two broken ri-? Jesus Dick how'd the hell did you pull this off?_" thought Bruce as he taped his ribs and took a few Oxycodone.

Despite everything said between them as Dick left to form the Titan's with Raven he'd always been proud of him. Blinking away a tear he cut away the rest of Dick's costume. With a shuttering sigh pulled on surgical gloves and started the arduous task of removing the pieces of glass that'd lodged in his skin and treating his many injuries.

With a moan and sluggish motions that slid into a quiet yell as he tried to quickly sit up Dick started awake. With great effort he turned his head and took in his surroundings and tried to think back to what happened. He was talking to Batman and he had a few flashes of fire and pain but he kept drawing a blank. He saw Bruce sitting on a chair dozing.

Dick's head was still pounding but as his thoughts cleared up he started to notice his injuries and began putting the pieces together.

_Batman had yelled, "Move!"_  
>There was an explosion.<p>

_A hot wave of searing air washed over him stinking of cordite._  
>Dick felt the flash burns on his skin.<p>

_There was something that hit his back and caused him to land poorly.  
><em>He leaped from the roof with Batman covering him.

_A sound like a thousand needles on ice and then hot biting impacts._  
>Dick looked at his bandaged arms.<p>

_Pulling off his glove and searching for Batman's communicator as he'd lost his._  
>He felt a few sprained fingers and a badly broken thumbnail.<p>

_A loud bang._  
>His ears weren't working quite right and the room felt to be spinning slightly.<p>

_A feeling of rushing air._  
>Dick looked around the room.<p>

_The reinforced concrete and titanium ceiling rolling to the side as a sense of panic commanded him to slam his fist on the large red button near him.  
><em>He saw a thin layer of ask and soot covering parts of the room.

_Everything going dark.  
><em>There was blood around the cart and Bruce wasn't wearing his mask Dick noted. Seeing the mask on the ground with no blood around it he slowly moved his arm and finally noticed the bandages on his head.

With a breath Dick slowly sat up ready for the fire in his chest this time as his broken ribs protested the movement. Feeling a slight tug at his hand he noted an IV placed inside the vein and heard a small hiss. His eyes followed the sound and noted the machine adding some sort of medicine to his drip. With a quick cottony feeling quickly settling over his head and mind Dick lay back down and turning his head back he saw Bruce awake and looking at him.

"Bruce. Thanks." he said with a yawn as the Fentanyl began chemically lulling him to sleep.

"No thank _you_ Dick. We wouldn't have it without you." Bruce replied his voice thick with emotion; something most would think impossible.

"You… really should set… your proximity sensors… to ope-" Said Dick finally dropping off into sleep.

Bruce slowly got up favoring one side and went over to his bedside and after checking the readouts once again pulled a thin blanket over him.

"I will…" said Bruce laying a light kiss on his forehead before heading back to his seat sitting down with a deep sigh one thought nagging at him.

How was he going to tell Dick that Raven was killed?

About twelve hours later Dick awoke with a feeling of unease and looked to where he last saw Bruce.

Bruce wasn't there but Dick wasn't surprised by any means considering what had just happened.

There it was again.

A feeling of something being fundamentally wrong.

Shaking off that cold feeling he sat up slowly holding his side as the pain cut through the medication. He needed to check in with the team. Slowly making his way over to the communications console he sat down and entered his access codes. The state-of-the-art computer ran through thousands of identity checks analyzing Dick from his password and facial pattern down to the genetic level. Within a few seconds its checks satisfied the security subsystem allowed Dick access to the system.

Upon login the machine began informing him of the damage to the safe house and its links to the Justice League satellite network.

"_Not a big deal. I'll just use the offsite backup sat links._" Thought Dick selecting alternate communication paths waiting while the router tables and firewall access control lists updated.

Within moments the bunker's systems connected to the Wayne Enterprises network and on the secure channels bounced through hundreds of nodes globally he attempted to connect to Titan's Tower in Jump City.

"_No connection?_" thought Dick instinctively slipping into his Robin persona.

Quickly running diagnostics with a sinking feeling Robin found himself blocked at every path just as the systems would have connected to the Tower.

"It's as if the Tower were-", whispered Robin looking at the multiple error messages.

Frantically Robin's fingers flew across the keyboard accessing, hijacking, and then redirecting an NRO KH-11 spy satellite over Jump City's bay.

Robin's heart stopped as he saw the smoking hole where his home used to be.

Fingers shaking Robin sought out Cyborg's built-in communicator knowing that it could be reached even if the Tower couldn't.

"_If he's not-_", thought Robin stopping the thought before it could complete.

An affirmative tone sounded as Robin's connection attempt succeeded.

"Robbie is- is that really you?", Cyborg said looking into his arm and then quickly disconnecting the screen and switching to his internal Augmented Reality displays as he saw Robin wasn't wearing his mask.

"What happened?"

"Robin we thought you were dead. We saw your communicator was destroyed." Cyborg responded standing silent to the world but speaking only in his mind.

"What. Happened?" Robin ground out.

"About the same time your communicator was destroyed we came under heavy attack from all directions. The automated missile defense system came online and did its job. The transport carrying Raven had just made it to the other side of the bay by HAL goons."

"HAL? What the hell were they doing there and how'd they know about that transport?" said Robin narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah, that's what I've been wondering too. I sent Beast Boy to stop them while I sent Starfire to find and stop whoever was coordinating the missile attack. While they were doing that I was attempting to get the Watchtower online, you getting taken out and us coming under attack at the same time was no coincidence."

"What happened next?" Questioned Robin thinking furiously at this new information.

"They were jamming us and the command site that Starfire found was an automated decoy."

"Automated…", muttered Robin thinking about Batman's observations on their enemy's meticulous coordination and wondering if there was indeed a controlling hand behind all of this.

"I couldn't beat the jamming so I went to the T-car to get outside of the field and that's when it happened."

"What happened." Asked Robin quietly.

"A kinetic energy weapon."

"A what?"

"A kinetic energy weapon, also called 'Rod from God', it's a space-based weapon that fires a hardened metal rod at a target. The rod usually weighs from a few hundred pounds to fifty tons. We're estimating the one that hit us was about eight to ten tons. It hit with a force of about a one kiloton nuclear bomb. The shockwave knocked Star right out of the sky and I'd just made it out of the garage and was almost to the tunnel when the T-car got skipped across the bay like a pebble. The Tower never stood a chance against it."

"What happened to Beast Boy?" said Robin catching on that Cyborg wasn't mentioning him or what was happening on the pier.

"He flew across the bay and transformed into his beast form. HAL had already killed the guards and had pulled Raven out of the transport. He saw them hit her and just lost it. He started killing them."

"Killing them? You mean beating them badly or-"

"Killing them. Literally. He was like a force of nature and then one of them shot him with a plasma rifle."

"A plasma rifle?"

"Yeah, put a hole right through the little guy."

"What happened to Raven? Is she okay?"

"The shockwave sent a massive wave against the pier. Everyone got sent into the bay. Beast Boy, man, he- he- "

"Did he die?" asked Robin quietly.

"No but between getting shot and somehow pulling Raven to the surface, and I still don't know how he had the energy, he made it long enough for Starfire to get them out of the water. He's in a coma right now."

"Cyborg, what happened to Raven?"

"Robin the T-car was tossed and I had to run over to them…" he trailed off.

"Cyborg…" said Robin with a growl.

"There was nothing I could do…"

"**WHAT HAPPENED TO RAVEN?**" yelled Robin his voice echoing off the walls causing Cyborg to flinch.

"I'm sorry Robin. She's dead. She was just too weak from the bracelets and getting hit didn't help. She got tossed into the bay with everything and it hurt her too much."

Sharp lances of pain ripped through his chest as he began to hyperventilate moving his broken ribs. He began to shake as visions of the whole scenario with Raven ran through his mind each one worse than the last. Unbidden his mind flashed back to watching the rope break and with his eyes following his family to the distant circus floor. In his mind's eye he couldn't help but see her helpless. He imagined her cries echoing in his mind as she was hurt and then killed. He flashed through a future he imagined between them that was now never to be.

Dick didn't hear Cyborg's yell as he began pounding the console, its fragile buttons flying in the air.  
>Dick didn't hear his own cries as he screamed out his pain at losing someone else he loved.<br>Dick didn't hear the door behind him open and Bruce rush in enveloping him in a hug.  
>Dick didn't notice himself turning around and leaning into it as Cyborg looked on.<br>Dick didn't feel Leslie adding herself to that embrace stroking his back as he sobbed.  
>Dick didn't see Starfire's face now looking in on her communicator as well her green eyes streaming tears.<p>

All Dick knew was he lost the woman he loved.

* * *

><p>AN:<br>And that's what happened to the dynamic duo. Something I think that gets overlooked in most superhero comics, but gets underlined VERY well in the new Batman movies, is just how much punishment Batman goes through. Though he's protected by a lot of armor and technology he's still only human, as is Robin, and they take a lot of punishment and frequently get hurt quite badly. I wanted to show that as I don't think they really get their due; it's why I shot Robin way back in chapter two.

I had someone leave a review saying that Raven shouldn't be subject to US laws as she's not a citizen here. Normally I don't respond to unsigned reviews but in this case I will. It doesn't matter if you're a citizen or not. If you're in a country you're subject to its laws. Diplomatic immunity, which she didn't have anyway, isn't carte blanche to do what you want despite what Hollywood would have you believe and it's the only thing I could come up with a get out of jail card (that I obviously didn't use). It's to protect diplomats from accidentally running afoul of any laws unfamiliar to them. If a diplomat commits a murder, except in the case of a non-extradition country, normally that protection will be revoked, with the consent (or in some cases blessing) of that diplomat's government. Raven had none of this and I'm going with the idea that she had to leave Azrath so heading back wouldn't be an option.

While she could have easily ran out into the galaxy and someone like Darkseid would have welcomed a being as powerful as her with open arms that's simply not who she is (though that action would have made her a high priority target of the League, Lanterns and every bounty hunter out there). Out of the Titan's, and most superheroes in general, Raven has one of the most engrained senses of personal responsibility given her heritage and everything she's done to thwart it. From day one that responsibility and fate has been pounded into her head to the point where she willingly developed a psychosis to limit her powers. These aren't the actions of someone without a sense of honor and justice. That's why she didn't simply leave.

I debated ending this chapter at the part where Bruce is struggling with how to tell Dick Raven was killed or after that and his reaction. As you can see I went with the latter as I felt it tied this chapter together nicely. I've tried to keep an episodic feel to each chapter to make them easier to remember. I *LOVE* long stories and chapters but I've found that some people just can't stand them. While I'm not one of them I know that they're out there and cutting things up like this makes the story more accessible to someone who wants to read a quick part of the story on the bus to work and then another quick snippet at lunch or what have you.

The reason I was so descriptive in the beginning of this chapter with the destruction of the buildings was that I wanted that to take place slowly in your mind's eye as you read the words and saw Robin trying to get through all of that. Think of the explosion in the first Sherlock Holmes or chase scene in the new Sherlock Holmes film "A Game Of Shadows". (If you've not seen either of these stop reading and go watch them.) When you look at them there's so much detail that you can pick out that you see them even slower than they're filmed. That's the effect I was trying to simulate.

With Robin's recalling of the escape from the trap and his injuries tying them together, again I was going for a flashback type of deal.

As always please review as I won't know what I'm doing wrong and getting right if no one tells me!  
>I'd really like to know how well these things worked!<br>Thanks! ^_^


	12. Annoucement

So will so be taking down my stories. Apparently changing layouts, formatting systems, and intrusive advertising are well within their capabilities but a simple 'click here to confirm you're not a minor' is too difficult to implement (despite it being enough for sites with ACTUAL pictures and movies of sex). PM if you want to continue reading and we'll see what we can workout.

I'll be posting this in EVERY place I can.

I aims to misbehave.

I won't go quietly.

**Post loudly**!


	13. Deshi

-Author Omake-

The room was small and the detective standing in it made Seliena feel even smaller.  
><em>'Almost made it...'<em>she lamented thinking back to how easily she'd been cornered trying to leave the site.

The young newly promoted detective sat down in a chair across from her and opened a laptop and spun it towards her.

It was opened to Fanfiction . net.

"Did they kill all the good stories?" , he asked plainly.

"I'm not sure." she whispered.

* * *

><p>Shadowruni shuddered awake.<br>His body and spirit broken.  
>His mind hazy and vision spinning.<br>He struggled to bring the world into focus.

Through dry and cracked lips he rasped to the Story Admin, "Why didn't you just delete my account?"

"Your punishment must be more severe. You will watch as all the stories you've fallen in love with and respect, if nothing else, are ashes. When that is done you'll have my permission to be deleted."

With that said a small screen was turned on where the author could see it and the Admin left.

* * *

><p>Shadowruni watched the site with a sinking heart.<p>

Story after story fell before the overzelous Admin.

Stories with adult plots and real character development.  
>Stories with ideals that went beyond simplistic cartoonish approaches and limitations.<br>Stories that streched the bounderies of their creators and took on a life of their own.

Even worse in his mind were the authors who capitualated and edited their work.  
>He couldn't see them but knew they were there. Some of the most promising and interesting ideas he'd read in ages washed away by fear.<p>

He heard a chanting:

"Deshi, deshi, basara, basara!"

Struggling to stand his keeper, and elderly middle eastern man, helped him to the edge of his cell and he watched as a man tried to climb the walls of the deep hole that let air and supplies into this dark hell on Earth he'd been placed.

"What are they saying?" he asked grimicing as his dislocated back spasmed.  
>"Rise, rise, up, up." the man replied.<br>"Has anyone ever made it?"  
>"One has. He was raised in the darkness. He is like you in many ways."<p>

Off to the side another man speaks rapidly in Arabic and gestures towards Shadowruni.

"He says your back can be fixed but it doesn't matter if you're afraid to go back."  
>"I'm not afraid. I'm angry."<p>

* * *

><p>Hanging from a sling with a sickening crack was heard has Shadowruni's bones were set back into proper position. He passed out from the pain but saw something. A vision. Someone he thought gone and dead.<p>

Concolor44.  
>"You're dead."<br>"There are many forms of immortality."

The conversation between them was brief but intense and while he couldn't remember it upon waking one thing echoed deeper than anything else.

"If you make yourself more than just an author. If you devote yourself to an ideal. They can't stop you. You become something else entirely. A legend."

* * *

><p>Over the next months Shadowruni devoted himself to becoming what he once was.<br>Ruthlessly punishing himself by reading and re-reading his reviews and requests that he continue.  
>He climbed the wall. Without a rope. There was no going back. He'd either make this time, unlike his last attempt with the safety rope, or die trying.<br>He didn't fear deletion anymore.

The chanting had risen so loud that he could feel it shaking dust off the walls.  
>He looked at the gap that'd stopped everyone else so far.<p>

He looked.  
>He breathed.<br>He lept.

With almost just his fingertips he made it to the next ledge and climbed into the sun. Not having seen it for months.

Idly he kicked a rope down to those who'd helped him and began he trek back to show the Admin that there are stories worth saving.

* * *

><p>I'm back and finishing this and my other stories.<p>

-Shadowruni


End file.
